BuzzFeed has appointed Stanley E. Washington as an independent member of its Board of Directors, effective 16 July 2026. Washington will serve on the Audit Committee, the Nominating, Corporate Governance, and Corporate Responsibility Committee, and chair the Compensation Committee. Washington brings over 40 years of experience in financial services, fintech, payments, and commercial real estate. He currently serves as President and CEO of Pantheon Global Services Inc., a Beverly Hills-based investment and advisory firm. Previously, he held senior roles at American Express and served as Chief Revenue Officer of publicly traded LogicMark. Greg Coleman is stepping down from the board after serving since 2021. He previously chaired the Compensation Committee and served as BuzzFeed President from 2014 to 2017.

Five major publishers including The Arena Group, BuzzFeed, DMGT, Frommer's and Sports Illustrated have partnered with Gist, ProRata's white-label AI platform, to deploy question-and-answer search technology and advertising formats. The platform features "Gist Answers" and "Question Bar", allowing publishers to keep readers onsite when searching for information rather than losing traffic to ChatGPT or Google Gemini. Publishers retain search data whilst advertisers can sponsor questions and track engagement patterns. Founded by Bill Gross, creator of the pay-per-click model, ProRata has raised over $75 million since launching in 2024, including a recent $40 million Series B round. The technology addresses growing concerns about AI models diverting traffic from publishers, with recent research showing 37% of consumers now start searches with AI engines rather than traditional search. Gist aims to serve 500 million questions monthly by June.

In a $120 million USD deal, the TV mogul is taking over the digital publisher, with founder Jonah Peretti pivoting to head up "BuzzFeed AI."